


Truth Hurts

by KyteNights



Category: South Park
Genre: Angst, Canon Related, Gen, Hurt No Comfort, Late Night Conversations, Sad Ending, The Vaccination Special (South Park), my heart hurts, new episode broke me, poor kenny
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 20:14:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29988234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KyteNights/pseuds/KyteNights
Summary: “Well, I guess this is it.”“Yeah.”“I guess it is what’s best for everybody.”“What are you guys talking about?”“Everything’s going to be okay, Kenny.”Kenny can sense something’s wrong, but no one will tell him what’s going on. Confused and worried, Kenny pays a late-night visit to Kyle’s house as he searches for answers.(Vaccination Special spoilers)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 29





	Truth Hurts

**Author's Note:**

> New episode made me feel so sad you guys. And like any masochistic writer, I wrote angst about it lmao. This is angsty so only read this if you’re prepared for that.

_ “Well, I guess this is it.” _

_ “Yeah.” _

_ “I guess it is what’s best for everybody.” _

_ “What are you guys talking about?” _

_ “Everything’s going to be okay, Kenny. I’ll see you on Monday.” _

_ “And I’ll come pick you up on Thursday, Kenny.” _

_ “Huh?” _

_ “Hey, I wish you guys all the best, huh?” _

_ “Thanks, I’ll be fine. I already have some new bros I’m hanging out with.” _

…

Kenny sat in his bedroom, contemplating the strange conversation that the guys had with him earlier that day. Why did Stan and Kyle say that they were going to see him on Monday and Thursday respectively? And what had Cartman meant when he said that he “had Kenny this weekend?”

Kenny had tried to ask for answers of course. But Cartman had quickly stormed off in another one of his hissy fits, and when Kenny had attempted to question Kyle and Stan, they offered nothing but frustratingly vague responses, before they quietly turned to walk away in different directions. And so, in the midst of that busy street filled with jubilant, partying adults, Kenny had been left utterly alone. There was really nothing left to do but continue the trek back down to his home, entering the desolate streets of SoDoSoPa as questions burned in his mind.

Suddenly, his mom’s voice cut through his worried pondering.

“Kenny, dinner’s ready,” she called, her head peeking through the doorway of Kenny’s room. “The rest of the family is already at the table, I’ve been calling for you.” The tone of her voice sounded tired, and slightly irritated. Which made sense, no wonder she’d be irritated if she was calling out to Kenny for an unknown period of time, only for him to never answer.

“Sorry, I didn’t hear you. I’m coming,” Kenny replied, promptly hopping off of his bed and following his mother to the dining room. He couldn’t help but instinctually note that the phrase “I’m coming” could be interpreted in a dirty way, but he didn’t have the energy within him to giggle at that. Far too many questions plagued his mind.

Kenny needed  _ real  _ answers, not vague statements, and by god, he was going to acquire these answers as soon as possible.

~~~

It was midnight now. Well, not quite midnight, but it was 11 pm, which was close enough. He had to wait for it to be late enough for his family to not notice him sneaking out of the house, and with his siblings fast asleep, and his parents utterly wasted from yet another night of drinking, now seemed like the perfect time.

Under the cover of the night, Kenny darted through the shadows of the streets of South Park. It actually felt a lot like the nights in which he’d dress up as Mysterion and quietly sneak around the town, saving citizens from violence and crime wherever he went. He didn’t sport his Mysterion costume tonight, though; he was simply in his usual orange parka.

Kenny had a goal, a mission, and it was to figure out why the hell his best friends were acting so weird. Kenny had decided that the best person to ask would be Kyle, and he was on his way to the Broflovski residence right now. Stan lived an unreasonable distance away; there was  _ no way _ Kenny was going to walk all the way to Tegridy Farms and back in the middle of the night. As for Cartman, Kenny knew that he’d immediately be pissed if Kenny dared to interrupt his slumber, and it was impossible to have a serious, yet civil conversation with a pissed Cartman. This left Kyle as Kenny’s best option.

Kenny’s pace eventually slowed to a stop, as he found himself in front of Kyle’s familiar olive green house. He had reached his destination. Slowly, Kenny began to circle around the perimeter of the house, gazing up into the windows. All of the lights inside were out, which made sense; Kyle’s parents had always been a little more strict on bedtime. Kenny’s gaze settled on the window that he knew to be the window of Kyle’s bedroom. He had to figure out a way in, somehow. He found himself revisiting his memories of all the times that Cartman had bragged to him about secretly sneaking in Kyle’s room, sometimes without Kyle ever even stirring from his sleep. How had Cartman done it? Surely, if someone as fat and unfit as him could manage to get up there, then Kenny could do it as well.

Kenny continued to search around, until he found a ladder laying around in a neighboring yard. Of course, this could work. He still had no idea if Cartman used this ladder to get in, or if he used some other method, but it didn’t particularly matter. He carried the ladder over to the Broflovski’s yard, and set it in place beneath Kyle’s window. Kenny carefully climbed up the ladder, praying to Jesus or Moses or  _ whoever the hell was listening  _ that some freak accident wouldn’t happen that would cause him to die on the spot. Thank the universe, Kenny made it to Kyle’s window without issue. He slowly opened the window so as not to cause a disturbance, and slipped inside.

Kenny crept over to Kyle’s bedside. He was fast asleep, his expression peaceful and soft as he laid on his side, curled up in a ball. Kenny slowly reached out his hand and gently tapped Kyle’s shoulder, trying to wake him up as peacefully as he could. He wasn’t having much luck, but he persisted. He gave Kyle a gentle pushing nudge, hoping that this would bring him closer to waking.

It worked a little too well.

In a split second, Kyle’s eyes shot open, and he burst up with lightning speed and tackled Kenny to the floor.

“Cartman!” He shouted in Kenny’s face. “I warned you! This is the last fucking time you break into my room, fatass!”

“Shit dude! This is Kenny! Calm down!” Kenny cried out, trying to push Kyle’s body off of him. Kyle’s expression began to morph from anger to confusion, as his tired brain registered Kenny’s voice and his smaller form. This certainly wasn’t Cartman.

“Kenny?... Why are you?...” Kyle asked, trying to rub the sleep out of eyes.

“Can you get off of me first?” Kenny asked. “You’re pinning me down like we’re about to be in a goddamn porno or something.”

Kyle made a disgusted face. “Sick, dude!” he exclaimed, immediately getting off of him. Kenny snickered at his reaction.

“What the fuck was that all about anyways?” Kenny asked as he sat himself back up. “You were sleeping like a baby one second, and the next I’m being tackled full force. Where the hell did that burst of energy come from?”

“Practice,” was all Kyle said, and he rolled his eyes. He then returned his focus to questioning his friend. “But seriously, why are you at my house in the middle of the night!? I’m not supposed to see you until Thursday anyways. Or was it Friday?” Kyle wondered to himself, tapping his chin in thought.

“That,” Kenny pointed his finger at Kyle. “That’s the reason why I’m here. What the hell is going on?”

“... and you had to ask me specifically because?...”

“Because I’m not walking all the way out to Tegridy Farms to ask Stan, and I don’t want Cartman yelling at me for waking him up. Also, stop avoiding the question for once, dammit.” Kenny was getting progressively more irritated by the constant question dodging.

Kyle sighed. “I guess that makes sense, but I don’t see why you had to do it in the middle of the night.”

“Doesn’t matter. Now give me an answer, Kyle,” Kenny demanded.

Kyle’s expression grew uncomfortable. “You won’t like what I have to say.”

“I don’t care. I don’t want to live in the unknown. You of all people should understand the need to know what’s going on around you,” Kenny said.

Sympathy appeared on Kyle’s face, he knew exactly what Kenny meant by that. “Okay. Hold on, let me grab a pencil and paper,” he said as he walked over to his desk. 

There was a click, and the room was filled with a soft yellow light from his lamp. Kenny heard the sound of Kyle drawing something out on a piece of paper. He walked over and peeked over his friend’s shoulder to try to see what he was drawing. It was a calendar.

“So, before I start to explain, Cartman came up with this whole thing, so don’t blame me if it’s confusing. It’s called the 2-2-3 plan,” Kyle pointed at the calendar as he began to illustrate. “You hang out with a different one of us throughout the week. One person gets you Monday and Tuesday. Then you switch off to another one of us on Wednesday and Thursday. And finally, you get to spend time with someone else on Fridays and weekends. For example: Cartman gets you this weekend, Stan gets you Monday and Tuesday, Cartman gets you again on Wednesday and Thursday, and finally, I get you on Friday and that weekend. The days in which we get you each week will alternate, so that way, we all get to take turns spending weekends with you.” Kyle paused, and turned to Kenny. “Does that make sense? It’s okay if it’s confusing, you can just blame Cartman for that.”

Kenny stared hard at the calendar. “No, I don’t understand, but not for the reasons you think.” He looked straight into his friend’s eyes. “Kyle, why are we doing this weird arrangement? You guys hang out with me all the time. You don’t need to pass me around from guy to guy, you know.”

Kyle broke eye contact with Kenny, unable to look his friend in the face as he uttered the next words. “Well Kenny, that… that’s not going to work anymore. Look, to put it simply, the thing is: the broship is gone. But the three of us still care about you a lot, so we all want to do what’s best for you.

Kenny’s face went blank with shock. “The broship is… what?”

“Yeah. It’s gone, Kenny. This is how it is.”

Kenny was having a hard time digesting Kyle’s words. He simply stood there, frozen.

“Kenny, it’s not your fault, if that’s what you’re thinking. It’s never been your fault,” Kyle insisted, attempting to console his friend.

Tears welled up in Kenny’s eyes. He couldn’t speak.

“Ken, I’m so sorry.”

“No.” Kenny whispered, trying to fight back the impending sobs.

“I’m sorry, I can’t help the way things are…” 

Kyle slowly stood up, and looked at the face of his heartbroken friend. His best friend. Now that Kyle’s friendship with Stan had soured, that officially made Kenny his best friend, and his heart hurt having to see someone he cared about like this, someone who he had wanted to protect from the truth. He took a step forward, his arms reaching out as he attempted to embrace Kenny with a hug.

Kyle was met with a forceful shove. He stumbled into his chair, and tripped onto the floor, crying out in surprise.

“Can’t help the way things are!? Did you even fucking  _ try!? _ ” Kenny yelled, as the sobs he had been trying to hold back began to slip out.

“Kenny! Calm down! You’re going to wake up my parents!” Kyle pleaded from where he fell on the floor.

“Screw them!” Kenny continued to yell. “You’re really just going to sit there and let the broship die out!? After all this time!? After all the good times and bad times!? All the arguments our friendship survived, and all the crazy shit we’ve been through!? We’ve done the impossible more times than any of us can count, yet you have the nerve to say you  _ can’t help the way things are!? _ ”

No response from Kyle. He didn’t know how to respond. He simply laid there, stunned.

Between the sobs and the bitterness as he stared at Kyle’s silent face, all Kenny knew was that he couldn’t be here right now. Not here, not now.

Kenny’s surroundings became a blur, and he barely registered where he was going as he ran out Kyle’s room and practically jumped down the ladder. 

And so he ran. He didn’t know why he was running. He didn’t know what he was running from, or what he was running towards. He just ran mindlessly, across snow, sidewalks, and streets alike.

He wasn’t paying attention when headlights from a car suddenly bathed him in light, and Kenny soon felt the all too familiar feeling of his bones being crushed, as the car of a reckless driver who was going far above the speed limit slammed into him. He didn’t mind, though. Death was a normal part of his daily life. He had experienced it hundreds of times. But his friend group breaking apart? This was not normal. Not normal at all. And he didn’t know how to cope. 

The peaceful blanket of death couldn’t come soon enough, and Kenny felt his painful, heartbroken feelings slowing to a stop, as his consciousness faded away into the nothingness of death once again.

**Author's Note:**

> hi this is my first story so dont burn me at the stake and sacrifice me to satan if it sucks lmao  
> Sucking at first is part of the whole learning process, I suppose. Not the dirty kind of sucking though. So no, I will not give you head as a part of the learning process, thank you very much.


End file.
